2016 Chassagne Montrachet Les Embazees
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Embazées offers up a rich bouquet of honeyed peaches, pineapples and spices, followed by a medium to full-bodied, fleshy palate with an ample core of fruit, ripe acids and a saline finish that's a touch ephemeral. This premier cru escaped the frost that devastated the rest of Chassagne-Montrachet in 2016, and if the fault of the frosted wines is an excess of concentration, this wine's weakness is a lack of it.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(Drouhin has contracts for fruit with two families): Pale, bright yellow. Fragrant aromas of pear and flowers convey an impression of freshness. Supple and easygoing on the palate, showing riper fruit and a more seamless texture than the village wines. Finishes suave and long, with good intensity but a light touch. These wines offer lovely aromatic precision but this one also finishes with a positive touch of mineral austerity. (12.7% alcohol)
Bottled. 11 months in oak. Fruit from three growers. Escaped the frost. Much more oak sweetness on the nose compared with the Chablis Les Clos. Almost a buttery note but cool and creamy too and just a touch of spice. Moderate intensity but much more refined on the palate than I expected from the nose. There’s an apple freshness here as if not all the malo had gone through. (JH)
About the producer
Joseph Drouhin is one of the largest and most famous producers in Burgundy, making both domaine and négociant wines. It remains family-owned and run, now in the hands of the fourth generation.